Guise Will Be Guise
Review: I want to buy Jane Espenson all the Godiva truffles she could ever eat. It's the only thing I can think of to begin to compensate her for the 44 minutes of television she has given me. First, last year she gave Cordelia an apartment, dead roommate, and a degree of depth that made me love her all the more, not to mention giving Doyle some of the best character development he ever got in what was my favourite episode of first season. A year later, she's given Wesley a chance to shine, not to mention some of the best Angel character analysis (and the hair gel is always ripe for ridicule) thus far. Not to mention a solidly entertaining episode that never once put a foot wrong (except perhaps for Ginny not noticing Wes's body temperature or pulse. Those folks over at Angel continue to surprise me my getting better with each episode. At this rate, I may have to stop writing reviews because I'm gonna run out of superlatives before we even get to February sweeps. Alex shines in this episode, not because he's playing "Angel"—but because he turns in a masterful performance playing Wesley playing Angel, and it gives us tremendous insight into his character, not to mention reminding us that there's more to Wesley than just the accent and the pratfalls. Kudos also go to the ubiquitous Art LaFleur whom I can forgive for not being Mike Starr, because he played the T'ish Magev with comedic flare so well. Solid guest performances really are like icing, and Brigid Brannagh (proving with this and her guest spot on West Wing this season that Kindred was not the end of her career which make me happy because she was one of the folks who didn't suck on Kindred) was a delight as Virginia. And how can you not love the Tooth Fairy (Todd Susman) as Bryce? Great twists in the middle—both of them—fantastic dialogue, excellent structure and pacing, Guise Will Be Guise is a winner from start to finish.

My rating: 10/10

Next week, women wear corsets, men wear wigs, and it's all Spike, all the time...